Ventilation system for industrial buildings



Feb. 3, 1970 H. RITTER VENTILATION SYSTEMFOR INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS Filed Aug. 26, 1968 4 Shets-Sheet l INVENTOR. JOHN H. R/TTEA BY 7 47' 7' OlQ/VEVS- =1 N M HN Feb. 3, 1970 J. H. RITTER VENTILATION SYSTEM FOR INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS Filed Aug. 26, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2- INVENTOR. JO/l/V fl. R/TTER '3 ML IL ,4 Hague-vs Feb. 3, 1970 J. H. 'RlTTER VENTILATION SYSTEM FOR INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS Filed Aug. 26, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet .5

INVENTOR. JOHN H. RITTER am,mqw%' ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 3, 1970 JLH. ITTER VENTILATION SYSTEM FOR INDUSTiUAL BUILDINGS Filed Aug. 26, 1968' 4 Shets-Sheet 4 IH l United States Patent 3,492,936 VENTILATION SYSTEM FOR INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS John H. Ritter, Airport Road, Fiuleyville, Pa. 15332 Filed Aug. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 755,367 Int. Cl. F24f 7/02 US. Cl. 98-42 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Each of a pair of ventilators mounted above parallel rectangular openings in a roof framework has a pair of vertical side walls, above which there is a transversely inclined roof sheet that normally engages the top of one of the walls to form a lateral ventilation opening between the top of the other wall and the sheet, but the sheet can be tilted on a longitudinal axis to close that ventilation opening and to open one at the opposite side of the ventilator. The two roof sheets extend toward each other far enough for their adjacent edges to overlap when they are the upper edges of the tilted sheets, and the ends of the ventilators are provided with doors.

In some industrial buildings a great deal of heat is produced that must be dissipated for the comfort and well being of the employees. Two examples are steel mills and glass-producing factories. One way of ventilating such buildings in order to bring cool air in and to discharge hot air from them is to provide openings in the roofs These openings are generally controlled by doors or louvers so that in cold or stormy weather they can be closed or at least restricted. Such ventilation systems known heretofore have been relatively complicated and expensive and also they leave large areas of the roof closed so that the buildings are not ventilated as completely as desired.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a ventilation system which is simple and inexpensive in construction and operation, which in effect allows an entire roof to be opened for escape of rising air, which is directional and which permits part or all of the roof to be substantially closed when desired.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of my ventilation system;

FIG. 2 is an end view; FIG. 3 is a side view taken from the left in FIGS. 1 and FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line IVIV of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary end view of the ventilation system at the right-hand side of the roof ridge.

Referring to the drawings, a roof framework 1 for a building is formed from trusses and beams in the usual way. The roof can be flat, slanted from one side to the other, or inclined from both sides up to a central longitudinal ridge as shown. There is little or none of the usual roof covering over the framework, but the frame work is made in such a way that a plurality of framed rectangular openings 2 are formed which are disposed side by side and extend lengthwise of the building. The number of these openings will depend upon the width of the roof, but there should be at least two or a multiple thereof.

Mounted above each of the framed rectangular openings in the roof framework is a ventilator 4, 5, 6 or 7. Each ventilator has vent side Walls 8 extending upwardly from the two sides of the underlying framed opening 2. All of the ventilator side walls extend up to the same level. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottoms of the adjacent side walls 3,492,936 Patented Feb. 3, 1970 of adjacent ventilators meet along the roof framework between the ventilators, and therefore the side walls are inclined because there must be considerable space between the upper portions of the ventilators. If the side walls were vertical, the bottoms would have to be spaced apart too, and that would require the framework between the ventilators to be covered with roofing material. Such an arrangement, although an improvement over the past, would form permanently closed areas of the roof and is not as desirable as the construction shown.

The side walls of each ventilator are supported by vcrtical end frames 10 and similar intermediate vertical frames 11 spaced suitable distances apart along the Walls between the end frames. All of these cross frames are tapered upwardly above the tops of the side walls, as shown in FIG. 4. At the apex of each frame there is a bearing 12. Extending through the aligned bearings is either a long pivot shaft 13, or a plurality of short shafts, clamped to the bottom of a wide roof sheet 14 that covers the space between the vent side walls. The sheet extends laterally beyond the opposite side walls of the ventilator and normally is inclined as far as possible in one direction or the other to close the space between the pivot shaft and the top of the side wall that the sheet engages or substantially engages. At the same time, the upper side of the inclined roof sheet is located above the level of the pivot shaft and therefore is spaced a considerable distance from the underlying side wall of the ventilator to form a lateral ventilation opening 15 between them. It will be seen that if the sheet is tilted in the opposite direction the ventilation opening just mentioned will be closed and eliminated but a like ventilation opening will be opened at the opposite side of the ventilator. The sheet can be tilted in any suitable manner, (not shown) such as by cables connected to it or by mechanical means connected with its pivot shaft 13 for turning it. The roof sheets on all of the ventilators may be tilted in the same direction, or one or more of them can be tilted in the opposite direction, depending upon the eflect that the direction of tilting has on ventilation of the building. The effect will change with wind direction. By suitable tilting of all of the roof sheets, the entire roof from wall to wall of the building can be opened for ventilating the building, so hot air and fumes escape rapidly from the building which therefore remains at a comfortable temperature and receives constantly iniushing fresh air to replace the rising air. The sheets may be provided with transverse bracing (not shown) at locations between the vertical cross frames to stiffen the sheets. Also, the sheets overhang the end frames as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Another feature of this invention is that the spaces between the ventilators can be covered by tilting the adjacent edges of adjacent roof sheets upwardly as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. The sheets are wide enough for their adjoining edges to overlap. To make a good seal at the overlap, it is desirable that the overlapping marginal portions of the sheets be convex transversely and nest together. To facilitate the nesting and sealing, the marginal portions of the sheets preferably are formed from relatively thin resilient strips 17 of metal which can yield and fit together. Each strip overlaps the roof sheet that supports it and is connected hereto by bolts 18. The underlying portion of the sheet is provided with slots 19, through which the bolts extend, that permit the strip to be adjusted transversely to correct for any variation in spacing between adjoining roof sheets after the ventilators have been erected. When two sheets are overlapped in this manner, they will close the two outermost ventilation openings in the pair of ventilators 6 and 7 concerned, but the other two ventilation openings will remain open although covered by the portions of the sheets between the two pivot shafts. This will reduce the updraft through these two ventilators to some extent, but mainly it will reduce the possibility of rain or snow entering the ventilators during a storm.

In order to permit the roof to be more completely closed when desired, such as during storms or in very cold weather, doors are applied to the ends of the ventilators. There are two doors 21 and 22 at each end of each ventilator and they are hinged on central vertical axes. These doors extend downwardly from the tops of the ventilator end frames, but preferably do not extend all of the way down to the roof framework. Instead, as shown in FIGS. 2 and the lower portions of the ends of the ventilators are permanently closed by end walls 23 that also extend across the spaces between the ventilators. These end walls may be provided with suitable drainage openings between the ventilators. The outer doors 21 of the two ventilators 4 and 7 nearest the sides of the roof will fit, when closed, beneath the overlying roof sheets when the outer edges of those sheets are in their lower positions. On the other hand, the other end door 22 of each outer ventilator can be closed only when the inner edge of its roof sheet is in its upper position because, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the door is rectangular and extends laterally beyond the adjoining side wall of the ventilator to a point about halfway between that ventilator and the one next to it. The outer edge of this door meets the outer edge of a similar rectangular door 22 of the adjacent ventilator. The other door 21 of the latter ventilator is shaped so that it can be closed beneath the overlying roof sheet while the two adjoining roof sheets are in overlapping engagement. Consequently, not only are the ends of the two ventilators completely closed, but also most of the space between those ventilators is closed. The only open space is the relatively small area above the rectangular doors. When all of the doors at both sides of the roof ridge are closed in this manner it will be seen that the ventilation system, and therefore the roof, is substantially closed.

When the doors are swung outwardly away from the end frame of a ventilator into substantially parallel relation, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, they can be hooked together or attached in any suitable manner toa post 25 that extends upwardly from a catwalk 26 extending across the narrow area of the roof that generally projects beyond the ends of the ventilators. With all of the doors open and the roof sheets tilted to overlap adjoining edges, the building is well ventilated but the ventilation openings are protected by the roof sheets to a large extent from the entrance of rain or snow.

For small buildings, a single roof sheet 14 for eachventilator may be suificient, but for longer buildings it may be necessary or desirable to use two or more sheets disposed end to end over each ventilator as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. When a plurality of sheets cover a ventilator in this manner, there also is the advantage that one sheet can be tilted in one direction and the next sheet can be tilted in the opposite direction if that is found to improve ventilation. To avoid leakage of rain between the adjacent ends of the aligned sheets, a stationary roof panel 28 is supported by vertical cross frames beneath those ends. This panel extends under both sheets far enough to catch and deflect most rain that reaches it, yet is narrow enough to offer no appreciable obstruction to the ventilation openings.

1 claim:

1. A ventilation system for industrial buildings comprising a roof framework provided with a pair of parallel rectangular framed openings, and a ventilator mounted above each of said openings, each ventilator having a pair of vent side walls extending upwardly from the sides of the framed opening below it, a transversely inclined roof sheet above said pair of walls covering the space between them and projecting laterally beyond them, the inclined sheet normally substantially engaging the top of one of the vent walls to form a lateral ventilation opening between the top of the other vent wall and the overlying portion of the sheet, and means disposed above said framed opening at a level above said vent Walls for pivotally supporting the roof sheet on a longitudinal axis so that it can be tilted substantially into engagement with the top of said other vent wall to close said ventilation opening and to create another lateral ventilation opening between the sheet and the top of said one wall, the roof sheets of the two ventilators extending toward each other far enough for their adjacent edges to overlap when they are the upper edges of the tilted sheets, whereby the two outermost ventilation openings will be closed and the space between the two ventilators will be covered by the two sheets.

2. A ventilation system according to claim 1, in which said overlapping edges of the cover sheets are transversely convex and nest together.

3. A ventilation system according to claim 1, in which said roof-supporting means include vertical cross frames between said vent walls and tapered upwardly above them, and bearings and pivot shafts attached to the roof sheets and the tops of the frames.

4. A ventilation system according to claim 1, in which each ventilator includes a plurality of said roof sheets disposed end to end and tiltable independently of one another, and a stationary shielding panel extending across the space between the tops of the vent walls directly beneath the ends of adjoining panels.

5. A ventilation system according to claim 1, in which said overlapping edges are flexible strips extending lengthwise of the roof sheets.

6. A ventilation system according to claim 5, including means for adjusting said strips transversely.

7. A ventilation system according to claim 1, including upright doors at the ends of each ventilator for closing the spaces between their side walls.

8. A ventilation system according to claim 6, in which the bottoms of the doors are elevated above said roof framework, and solid end walls close the ends of the ventilators below the doors and extend across the ends of the spaces between the ventilators.

9. A ventilation system according to claim 1, including a pair of upright doors at each end of each ventilator for closing the spaces between their side walls, means hinging each pair of doors midway between the adjoining vent walls so that the doors can be swung outwardly toward each other, the doors for the two outermost ventilation openings being adapted to fit under the roof sheets while said adjacent edges are overlapped, and the remaining doors being adapted to close the major portions of the ends of the spaces between the two ventilators during said overlapping.

10. A ventilation system according to claim 9, including solid end walls closing the ends of the ventilators below the doors, catwalks extending across said solid end walls, and posts extending upwardly from the catwalks between each pair of doors, the doors being adapted to be fastened to said posts when the doors are open.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,408,432 3/1922 Arnold 9842 X WILLIAM E. WAYNER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 5219 

